Parents say

Kids say

Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.

Get it now on

Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...

Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.

A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this game.

Positive Messages

While the threat is aliens, the message of the game is that it is OK to use vicious, gory, extreme violence to accomplish your goal.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Players assume the role of a beefy futuristic soldier in the effort to rid the world of nightmarish alien creatures through tactical warfare. Your means are extremely violent, including using a chainsaw to rip apart your enemies.

Ease of Play

Game has challenging gameplay as you balance tactical decision with fighting.

Violence

Plenty of violence, blood, and gore. The worst it gets: you can use a chainsaw to rip apart enemies or machine guns to spray them down. A deadly laser strike can level buildings. Characters and world are photorealistic, making bloody battles seem even gorier.

Sex

Language

Foul language spoken by marines, including the odd F-word.

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this action game is not for kids or tweens -- it's an "M"-rated military shooter that, while against aliens, is realistically violent and gory. Need an example? You can use a chainsaw to rip apart enemies or use machine guns to spray them down. The game has an online component; Common Sense Media does not recommend online play for anyone under age 12.

What's it about?

Microsoft Game Studios' GEARS OF WAR is an action-heavy sci-fi shooter that places a heavy emphasis on using items for cover and exchanging blows with the vicious E.T. race known as the Locust Horde. Players assume the role of a beefy futuristic soldier in the effort to rid the world of nightmarish alien creatures through tactical warfare. Played from a third-person perspective, players must carefully assess areas for cover, find ammo, and take on the enemies until the coast is clear to continue to the next area.

Weapons range from pistols and shotguns to grenades, assault rifles, and the Hammer of Dawn, which communicates with a satellite that beams down a deadly laser strike that can level buildings. Taking cover is as easy as pressing the A button on the controller when near a solid object. Press the analog stick to the left or right and you'll peek around to assess the threat. Press A again to re-enter the freeform mode to walk, roll, and find another hiding place.

Is it any good?

The game's strengths lie in the tense action, smart artificial intelligence, and multiplayer modes on the same television or via the Xbox Live online service ($50 a year). The game offers plenty of atmosphere, adding to the wonderful sense of anxiety and excitement. Gears of War is easily the best-looking Xbox 360 game to date thanks to photorealistic characters, detailed environments, and special effects.

A handful of head-to-head battle modes are included in the game, including Warzone, pitting humans versus the Locusts, and Assassination, where the goal is to kill the leader of the opposing team. Xbox 360 fans in search of a gorgeous but gory game combining tactical action with horror elements will love fighting though this challenging adventure. Play through the game once and it unlocks an incredibly difficult mode, with even meaner enemies.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about why older kids might be attracted to this game. Is it the story? Graphics? Violence? Online play? Since the enemies are extraterrestrials -- essentially already dehumanized for you -- is it easier to get into the violence of the game? What if the enemies were human -- would it make a difference to you?

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Help center

Follow Common Sense Media

Common Sense, Common Sense Media, Common Sense Education, and Common Sense Kids Action, associated names, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).